Why Americans value work differently? by: Amat adim issa

by: Amat adim issa

Work is the most accepted and shared notion in human history. Through all ages, work was the most valued activity in all societies. In fact, religions recognized the important of work and spoke about it openly in their literature For example, Islam invites its followers to (perform their work, because Allah; his messenger and the believers will see their work) and gives them rewards, if not in this life, it will be in the hereafter. Other religions also encompassed similar ideas in their literature In our modern world, western societies in particular, do respect work; therefore they create laws and regulations to organize it in their communities.
In the United States, work has not only become a doctrine to workers, but also a mean for survival in a highly competitive society. It is the reason why Americans respect their jobs more than anything else. Therefore, an American worker would prefer to work more hours instead of spending his time with family and friends. That’s why the American worker is the most respected worker among all industrialized nations. The question is: Why Americans value work differently? To answer this question, we have to investigate the historical background of American way of life which has become an accepted norm in all communities.
Early immigrants were hard workers; they built their families, as individual, from scratch. Furthermore, they constructed and built their communities, as a group, after a long struggle with nature and natives. They escaped persecution from their homeland; however, they faced a very harsh, hostile environment in their new home. Therefore, they view work as an asset that would help achieve any credible success. The center of this success is to acquire some basic material objects by which an individual can provide a stable means for survival.
For example having a means for transportation such as a car and the skills to use it is very essential in American life today. Similarly, having a gun and an adequate skill to use it to defend your community was very crucial in early days. Immigrants did not wait for a government or a king to provide them with security; instead they forged their own system to defend themselves. Hence the ideology of depending on our own work to achieve what we want is central in our struggle to provide a decent life to our families. This idea has conspicuously seeped in our beliefs system.
People in America believe that work is the most important activity in their lives. Probably, they have internalized the beliefs that if they are going to lose their work, they would bet-ter lose their lives as well. Obviously, people want to pay their bills on time, but they are not interested in love (relationship) and leisure. People don’t have any interest in making acquaintances with their next door tenant because they are either too busy working or they don’t have anything in common. Moreover, they don’t have time to take care of their own parents when they become old, so they put them in nursing homes and let the social security do the job.
On the other hand, if people don’t work, how can they provide food on the table for their families? Should they stay at home, making love and waiting for the entitlement programs, such as Food stamps to take care them? Of course, people should work and exert efforts to take care of themselves. However, people should make distinction be-tween what they want and what they really need. In fact, consumerism culture doesn’t help us to distinct between our needs and wants. Unfortunately, the desire to shop for what we don’t need has become a life style for many of us. People make financial trans-action based on their credit and buy things that they don’t really need. They suppose to pay their creditors back on time; otherwise they will face a highly overcharged interest. In a cycle never ends, people have increasingly enslaved by their desire. They just want to satisfy their insatiable wants and needs by owning new products. People should have goals and dreams and see them come true, but we can live without wants. On the other hand, our needs are quite simple and easy to achieve.
by: Amat adim issa

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